BREAKING: A-10 Warthogs Enter the Strait of Hormuz — The War Just Changed - YouTube

The US Air Force has been attempting to retire the A-10 Warthog aircraft for years, considering it too slow, vulnerable, and unsuitable for modern warfare.

The sequence in which aircraft are deployed into a conflict directly indicates the level of danger in the airspace.

Stealthy, fast, and survivable platforms like F-35s, B2 Spirit stealth bombers, and F-22 Raptors are typically sent first into contested airspace where the enemy can still fight back.

On March 26th, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth stated that Apache helicopter gunships and A-10 Thunderbolt 2 aircraft were flying strike missions freely inside Iranian airspace and throughout the Strait of Hormuz.

Secretary Pete Hegseth delivered a line implying that slow, low-flying, close-air support platforms are only deployed when the enemy has no meaningful air defenses left.

Iran spent decades and billions of dollars developing air defenses, including Russian S300 missile systems, domestically produced Bavar 373 batteries, and layered radar networks, to deter an American air campaign.

Operation Epic Fury launched on February 28th, 2026.

By December 2025, Forbes reported critical gaps in Iranian air defenses.

Former Iranian President Hassan Rouhani stated that the skies over Iran had become completely safe for the enemy and Iran no longer possessed real deterrence.

By the start of Operation Epic Fury, Army Technology reported Iran had only approximately 100 air defense launchers remaining across the entire country.

Within the first 24 hours of Operation Epic Fury, IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Ayel Zamir stated that 80% of Iran's air defense systems had been destroyed or disabled.

The US has claimed that 92% of Iran's large naval vessels have been taken out of the conflict, and missile launches from Iran are down 90%.

According to the Washington Post, which published satellite imagery on March 29th, at least 29 of Iran's ballistic missile launch sites have been rendered inoperable since Operation Epic Fury began.

On April 3rd, 2026, the United States suffered its first aircraft losses to hostile fire in over 20 years, with a US Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle and an A-10 Thunderbolt 2 being brought down over or near Iran.

For the first time since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, American aircraft are being brought down by hostile fire.

A senior Iranian military official rejected President Trump's ultimatum, calling it "a helpless, nervous, unbalanced, and stupid action."

The Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed, oil prices remain above $100 per barrel, and normal commercial shipping has halted.

Executing the ground operation plan for Iran's uranium stockpile would require flying excavation equipment into the country, constructing a runway, and would place American service members on Iranian soil under active combat conditions for weeks or months.